Last



C. M. SEARL May 5; l' 925.

LAST

Original Filed April 21. 1924 INVENTOR.

A TTORNEYS.

pP atented May 5, 1925.

v D, STATES PATENT OFFICE;

SEAR]; on PORTSMOUTH, OHIO, AssIGnoR TO THE vIiLo N HLAST. coinrang or PORTSMOUTH, 01110, A, oonrona'rron or OHIO.

LAST.

ori ami application filed April 21, 1924, seri l No. 707 .79e. Divided and this application filed November 24, 1924'. Serial no. 751,763;

To all whom. it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLINTON M. SnARL, a .citizen of the United States, residing at lortsmmith, in the county of Scioto and State of Ohio, have invented certain new vandfusetul Improvements in Lasts, of which the following is a specification,reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

Myinvent-ion relates to an improvement in lasts, and is particularly directed to lasts of the divided typethat is to say, to that type of last which is divided into two parts, a toepart'and a heel part, movable relatively to each other to collapsed and ex 5 tended positions. The present application is a division of my application filed April 21,1921, Serial No. 707,796. 1 i

It is desirable in lasts of this type that the mane capable of being easily collapsed'so that it may be 'removed i rom a shoe without injury to the lining of the shoe and with out stretching the shoe out of place. Y In lasting a shoe the lastis held upside down-that is, with the soleside upper most and inasmuch as a great deal of presi sure is put on the toe. of the last during the lasting operation, this tends to collapse the last, and consequently one of theobjects of myinvention is the provision of a construction in which the last is capable of w1thstanding the stresses to which 1t=1s sub ected during-the lasting operation Without collapsin'g,"but'may be readily collapsed by the 0pcrator when desired.

" Inone tormotlastnow inextensive use,

the fore partand heel part are attached to each other by a link attached to the fore part and heelwpart by" pins so located relatively that a line drawn through their centers will fallabove the axis on which the last parts move when the last is collapsed and below this point or axis when the last is extended.

In such a construction, the greater the distance the pins are below the axis of the last when the last is extended, or the greater 1 the distance they are above the axis of the last when the last is collapsed, the more re sistance the last will offer to collapse or extension, but this distance is limited inasmuch as the pins must be located in the last body itself, and in the case of WOOClQIl' lasts the pins must be kept at an appreciable distance from the bottom. or sole face owing to the danger of splitting the last when the same 1s 111 use or when being moved from extended position to collapsed position or vice versa.

In the present construction I have provlded an arrangement for attaching the two last parts to each other whereby an effect is obtained whichis as efficient as the lowering of the pins in the above-outlined construction tothe danger point, the resistt;

ance to collapse or extension offered by my last being very materially increased, with out, however, necessitating placing of any they are likely to cause ploying a lever, with the parts constantly under tension.

I It is a still further object of my invention to hold the parts of the last-together under tension with the parts so arranged that the tension will assumeits maximum when the parts are either in their tnllyexpanded or fully collapsed position.

It is an additional object of my invention to providethe holdingtogether of the parts i under tension and to associate therewith a lever, the parts being so arranged that the tension will achieve its maximum'at the completely expanded or collapsed position of It 'willbe realized that the;

the last parts. tension maybe created by a variety of means which may be very compressible or expandable, and the details of creating this condition are not essential.

It is a further object of my invention to provide suchmechanism to hold the parts of the last together under tension that it will not be necessary to have resilient links or resilient anchor pins. Such means are elimi nated and the same results are obtained.

It is a further object of my invention to provide the holding of such parts together under tension and the increasing of this tenslon at extreme positions together with means to lock the parts in extended position by such tension means to resist the pressure,

tending to collapse the last imposed on the bottom of the toe member in constructing the shoe thereon until such tension means is overcome by the operator breaking the last.

In the accompanying drawing I have shown a sectional view illustrating my invention.

In the drawing, 1 designates the heel part and the toe part of the last divided as customary by an arcuate cut, as indicated at 3, to provide a hearing about which the last parts move. at designates a bearing pin located at the center of the are 3. Secured on the bearing pin is a triangular plate 5 attached to the heel by a pin 6. The apex of this plate is pivoted by a pin 7 to a link 8 extending into the toe part of the last. 9 designates a second link, one end of which is pivoted on the bearing pin l while the forward end extends into the toe part of the last and is pivoted thereto by a pin 10. A- short link 11 is pivoted on this pin 10. The link 11 is pivotally attached intermediate its length, as indicated at 12, to the link 8 already referred to. The end of this link 11 engages the under side of a lever 12' pivoted to the toe part of the last. as indicated at 14. Power is applied to the link 13, tending to pivot the same on the pin 14, by a spring 15 lying between the end of this link and a pin 16.

IVith the parts in the position shown in full lines in the drawings, the force exerted by the spring 15 moves the link 11 downwardly to rotate the plate 5 to the left about the bearing pin 4, thereby shortening the distance between the pins 6 and to hold the last parts in extended position under tension. IVhen the last parts are moved to collapsed position the spring tends to rotate the plate 5 to the right to thereby I again shorten the distance between the pins 6 and 10 to hold the last collapsed under tension.

It will be apparent that I have provided a last structure wherein the last parts are held in extended position and in collapsed position under tension. thereby providing a structure which will successfully withstand accidental collapse or extension or" the last parts when the same are in use in the manufacture of shoes. It will be seen also that in my invention I provide a structure in which the force exerted on the last parts to hold the last in extended and in collapsed position is of some magnitude, my improved construction being such, however. that this increase in force is provided without weakening the last. 111 other words, more power is available for holding the last parts in adjusted position due to my improved structure than is possible in lasts as now manufactured.

It will be seen also that I have provided a last structure wherein the last parts are held in extended position and in collapsed position under greatest tension. In other words, the tension under which the last parts are held to each other when the last is extended or when the last is collapsed, as the case may be, is greater than the tension under which the last parts are held when in an intermediate position.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is In a last of the divided type the combination of a heel part and a toe part, a bearing pin for said last parts, a plate mounted in the heel part and secured on said bearing pin, a second pin for attaching said plate to the heel part, a link extending from said bearing pin into the toe part of the last, a lever in the toe part of the last. a bearing pin passing through the end of said lever and said link to pivotally connect said link and lever to the toe part of the last, a link extending from the plate in the heel part to a point intermediate the ends of the lever in the toe part, and a springactuated lever for applying power to the first mentional lever in the toe part of the last to maintain the last parts in extended position and in collapsed position under tension.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signa ture.

CLINTON M. SE ARL. 

